Chapter 14: Family Event
Moana

“I’ll pay.”

Ella and I were both shocked when we turned around to see Edrick standing there, credit card in hand, his face covered by sunglasses and a surgical mask.

“Daddy!” Ella exclaimed.

Edrick handed the ice cream salesman his credit card and ruffled Ella’s hair. “Eat your ice cream before it melts,” he said, guiding us away from the stand and the people behind us who were getting quickly annoyed at us for holding up the line to get ice cream.

“I thought you had to work,” Ella said.

“I decided to come home early so I could spend your birthday with you after all,” Edrick replied. “But you weren’t home. Selina told me that you went on an outing…” I couldn’t see his eyes through his sunglasses, but the way his head slowly turned toward me told me everything I needed to know.

my shoulders droop and looked embarrassingly down at my rapidly-melting ice cream. We approached a bench and Edrick instructed Ella to sit while she finished her ice cream, then he stood next to me and lowered his voice while she happily swung her legs and got ice cream all over

did you take her out if you had no money?” he asked, his

to take out money in a while. And besides, the driver is close; it would’ve only taken a minute for him to pass

shook his head and said nothing else. Ella, who had been listening the entire time, suddenly jumped up from her bench. “This is the best birthday ever!”

would make her

“It’s really not safe for us

birthday,” she

a little girl, Edrick,” I said quietly. “Let her enjoy

letting out a deep sigh and crouching to wipe the ice cream off of Ella’s face with

pictures of Ella and Edrick together. It was so sweet watching them play games together, and seeing Ella sitting on

tired. Ella, however, still had just as much energy, and insisted on one more ride before we went home. I suggested the ferris wheel because it was

climbed into the basket on the ferris wheel. Edrick sat across from me with Ella on his lap. As we started to go up, now that we were safe from prying eyes, Edrick took off his sunglasses to reveal steely gray

a fun outing just

the last rays of sunlight refracted across the treetops as they swayed in the hot summer breeze, and the way that the string lights lit up the park below us, made the city feel even

see Ella giggling and peering out over the

looking at

though he had only glanced at me on accident. Soon, the ferris wheel began to

finally came to a stop at the bottom, the attendant let us out. Edrick put his mask back on then got out with Ella in one of his

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